First Nation
First Nation is the name of The Land's first country, established in LY 904 (though it wasn't officially named until 914). Its capital is First Village. Other villages include (in order of founding) Tonad, Ship, Kurok, Frinn, Toobay, Olek, Pritt, Shipsister, Monab, Woodstockade, First Sea, Ristar, Kimrin, Port, Near Port, and Barbequeue. Each village (or body of water) is governed by a village council, while the country as a whole is governed by the World Council. The World Council is comprised of three branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. History While the country itself was initially established in 904 (and its government inaugurated in 905), it didn't have an official name until 914. Until that time, it was referred to as the Second Order, and while this name was treated as official by everyone in the world, it was never truly official. The basis for the name was that the country had been established immediately following a period known as the Coming of the Order, which lasted from 897 to 903 (though most people were not aware of the Coming until at least 902). The Coming was actually the the implementation of The Plan, which was conceived in 890 by a spirit-talker named Kizin. So, the Coming was largely carried out, at least in the first few years of the Plan, by The Order. It's therefore natural to assume the name "Second Order" is based on "The Order," however it actually refers more technically to the idea of bringing order- that is, unity and societal organization- to the previously disparate villages of the Land. This is what was meant by "the Coming of the Order," and it's what led people to just take to referring to the new country and government that was established by the Coming as "the Order," and just as naturally add "Second" to the name, to avoid confusion with the religious organization which was already called "The Order" (and which, upon the establishment of the Second Order, came to sometimes be referred to, incorrectly, as the "First Order"). In spite of all this, or perhaps because of it, it never occurred to anyone to question exactly when or how the name "Second Order" actually came into common parlance. It became... second nature. Nor did it occur to anyone to question the official nature of the term. That is, until 912, when an intended rebellion against the Second Order was founded, called The Chaos. However, because of the refusal of Demos Royal to give up the throne after losing the world election that year, as well as the discovery of various members of The Order (mainly, Durell Turner) influencing matters of state, in violation of the law of Separation of Church and State, the political situation of the entire world became complicated, leading to the Chaos War. This preempted the planned rebellion, and the Chaos instead joined forces with parts of the military loyal to Marshal Poss Primus, against those loyal to King Demos. Because of an agreement reached after the war between the leaders of the Chaos and Quinn Darkstrider, the king-elect of the Second Order, there was a proposition during the following year's election, in which five villages and one body of water- West Ocean- voted to secede from the Second Order. West Ocean and one of the villages, Sorret, each voted to become sovereign, while the other four villages voted to establish the Land's second country, the United Villages of the Chaos. The fact that a second country came into being led people to really think for the first time about the fact that "Second Order" didn't officially mean anything. It was commonly used to refer to the government, though that was actually called the World Council (some have said that since that body no longer governs the entire world, it should be abandoned, and possibly renamed "Second Order," though this seems unlikely). A proposition was included in the 914 election to officially name the country "First Nation," which many saw as a chance to finally eliminate the confusion caused between the names "Order" and "Second Order." Eliminating the name "Second Order" was also seen as a way of reinforcing the idea that religion should have no part in government. Some also saw the proposition as way of emphasizing the distinction of their country being the first, an idea which carries with it a certain prestige. It also fits nicely with the history of Landians using "First" in the names of places such as First Village, which is of course the nation's capital. And so, the proposition passed by an overwhelming majority. (In spite of the fact that "Second Order" now has no meaning, citizens First Nation continue to celebrate New Order Day (see Holidays of the Land). It also remains somewhat common for people to use the term Second Order to refer to the government, though it's expected this usage will decline over time. Category:Places